While we were in Bogota Colombia we all saw something that made us do a second glance. We just got done with a hike on the outskirts of town and as we were walking back we were exploring the area and seeing the different kinds of artwork that were around and also checking out some of the shops that caught our eye. It was kind of exciting and fun to see all the nightlife start to come out of their homes as we walked around. We saw all kinds of people and we even saw some police officers walking around with their dogs. The dogs were bigger than any dog I had seen back in the U.S. They also had muzzles on them and chains as leashes. It was crazy to see it in person so I think I was the only one that was hit with the culture shock of it. My two traveling partners seemed unfazed and that was probably because of their experiences in Ghana.
In Ghana, the officers have assault rifles with them. All the time. They don't care who you are, what you do, or how much money you have. They will use those weapons on you if they feel that it is necessary. So for them, this was another experience with guns and dogs but it was milder when it came in comparison to Ghana.
We watched as some officers pulled two guys to the side. They started to pat them down and one guy had the dogs to the side as he watched his partner go ham on these guys. They were definitely looking for something but we were unsure of what that was exactly. The officer pulled back, said something to the guy and he proceeded to turn around his hands still up. We watched with wide eyes as the officer handed him a bag. Yes, a bag. He wasn't sure what was in it but we had a sneaking suspicion it was some of that amazing white stuff we all heard so much about. We looked at each other and proceeded to move onward. Once we were out of earshot we talked about what we just saw.
Really it seemed unreal. That officer just gave that guy drugs...after patting him down for drugs. In front of the public. What a sight to see. That in itself gave me the insight I needed to know about the city of Bogota.
